*** Stars
I watched the History Channel documentary Breaking Vegas last year with my roommate in college. It was a few hours long and it was totally addicting. The story about six M.I.T taking down Vegas and making millions is certainly a pitch-perfect idea for a Hollywood film. LOOSELY based on Ben Mezrich's Bringing Down The House, 21 is flashy non-rhetoric entertainment. High-class, yet lacking substance, it holds the cards on the table long enough for us to be interested. Good Movie. Cool Movie.
The story revolves around the smartest card player of the six. Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess, you'll probably recognize him from Across the Universe) is a brilliant student, top of his class at M.I.T. He has been offered to attend Harvard for graduate school, a wonderful honor, but at the price of over $300,000. To earn the cash, he is pushed to join an underground blackjack team, who heads to Vegas on the weekends to count cards and take down the most profitable and powerful casinos in the world. See what kids have to do to pay for school? Kevin Spacey plays Micky Rosa, the leader and coach of the team. Using codes, signals, and simple math, he manages to bring his team a fortune.
Let it be clear, counting cards is not illegal, but it is extremely frowned upon. If caught, one is thrown out of the casino and never allowed back again. In 21, they kick the asses of any of those caught, literally. Ben gets in way over his head, with night clubs, high-rollers, and the seduction of his beautiful teammate Jill Taylor (the smart and sexiness of Kate Bosworth). Through time, he learns the reality of limits, commitments, and the rules of reciprocation. Laurence Fishburne plays the casino security boss who focuses on one thing, to take them down.
Breaking Vegas is a much more in-debt study of this story. These players actually travel all across the globe, counting cards and disguising their identities. 21 focuses on Vegas, with a little too much glamor. Players practicing this trade are not greeted by bouncers and club owners publicly, as they do want to draw attention to themselves. The film has to use this because the plot's eye is fixed on entertainment. I wish the film had the strength to dig up more contingent dirt, rather than basking in the Ocean of George Clooney's slick eleven. Good thing I love that eleven.
The story revolves around the smartest card player of the six. Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess, you'll probably recognize him from Across the Universe) is a brilliant student, top of his class at M.I.T. He has been offered to attend Harvard for graduate school, a wonderful honor, but at the price of over $300,000. To earn the cash, he is pushed to join an underground blackjack team, who heads to Vegas on the weekends to count cards and take down the most profitable and powerful casinos in the world. See what kids have to do to pay for school? Kevin Spacey plays Micky Rosa, the leader and coach of the team. Using codes, signals, and simple math, he manages to bring his team a fortune.
Let it be clear, counting cards is not illegal, but it is extremely frowned upon. If caught, one is thrown out of the casino and never allowed back again. In 21, they kick the asses of any of those caught, literally. Ben gets in way over his head, with night clubs, high-rollers, and the seduction of his beautiful teammate Jill Taylor (the smart and sexiness of Kate Bosworth). Through time, he learns the reality of limits, commitments, and the rules of reciprocation. Laurence Fishburne plays the casino security boss who focuses on one thing, to take them down.
Breaking Vegas is a much more in-debt study of this story. These players actually travel all across the globe, counting cards and disguising their identities. 21 focuses on Vegas, with a little too much glamor. Players practicing this trade are not greeted by bouncers and club owners publicly, as they do want to draw attention to themselves. The film has to use this because the plot's eye is fixed on entertainment. I wish the film had the strength to dig up more contingent dirt, rather than basking in the Ocean of George Clooney's slick eleven. Good thing I love that eleven.
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